Interview: The Month Of Living DangerouslyWhen the mobs took over the streets of Dili it was the people of East Timor that bore the brunt. Elisabeth Lino de Araujo from Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA was there to witness what happened.

Unions: Staying MumPenrith mums, Linda Everingham and Jo Jacobson, are at the heart of a grassroots campaign to boot Jackie Kelly, out of federal parliament. Jim Marr caught up with one half of the sister act.

Economics: Precious MetalsThere's a lot of spin around AWAs in the mining industry, but Tony Maher argues all that glitters is not gold.

Industrial: The Cold 100The Iemma Government has come up with 100 reasons why WorkChoices is a dud, with 100 examples of ripped off workers

History: The Vinegar Hill MobThis month's Blacktown Rally was not the first time workers had stood up for their rights in the region, writes Andrew Moore.

Legal: Free AgentsIs an independent contractor a small businessperson or a worker? The answer depends upon whether the contractor is genuinely ‘independent’ or not, writes Even Jones.

Politics: Under The InfluenceBob Gould thinks Sonny Bill Williams is a hunk; he reveals all in a left wing view of The Bulletin’s 100 most influential Australians, questioning the relevance of some, and adding a few of his own.

Telstra Boss Gets Crossed Line

A Telstra regional manager didn't know that three field technicians under his watch were losing their jobs.

Mid North Coast manager, Michael Sharpe, was forced into an embarrassing backdown after he gave assurances no jobs would be lost in Taree, and nearby Old Bar.

The newly-appointed Sharpe said he had looked at the wrong place name.

"Unfortunately that's what happened," Sharpe told the Manning River Times.

"(The list of redundancies) didn't specifically mention Taree, so I believed that meant it was not to be affected."

The redundancies are part of the 207 technicians' jobs being ripped out of regional NSW.

The Communications Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) says the losses come as at least 3800 phone faults are waiting to be repaired in regional NSW.

CEPU secretary Jim Metcher said there are more than 900 reported faults in the north coast alone.

"These are only the fault figures, there are hundreds of other customers waiting new phone installations and broadband connections and numerous other install jobs waiting to be done," Metcher said.

Metcher said the Telstra phone network could collapse if regional areas received heavy rainfall, which causes more faults.

"These fault figures are caused by minimal rainfall that has recently fallen across the state. It is now alarmingly clear that any area that receives heavy rainfall that the Telstra phone network could collapse."